science

Sky Ireland

Sky Ireland is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Sky Ireland rather than just read about it. In short: Sky Ireland Limited is a subsidiary of Comcast-owned Sky UK and supplies television, internet and telephony services in Ireland. Its corporate headquarters are in Dublin which were opened by Taoiseach Enda Kenny on 18 January 2013.

Key takeaways

Sky Ireland belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Sky Ireland to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Sky Ireland from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Sky Ireland Limited is a subsidiary of Comcast-owned Sky UK and supplies television, internet and telephony services in Ireland. Its corporate headquarters are in Dublin which were opened by Taoiseach Enda Kenny on 18 January 2013. Sky Ireland employs around 900 staff in Dublin.

History Sky Television started broadcasting in Ireland on 10 August 1992 and Sky Multichannels started on 7 March 1994. In 1998, Sky Digital launched its digital television services within Ireland. Sky Ireland provides opt-out feeds of key Sky television channels, which includes Sky One, Sky Sports, Sky News and Sky Atlantic. Sky Media Ireland is the media sales arm of Sky Ireland. They sell advertising opportunities across all of Sky's wholly owned channels, including Sky One, Sky Witness, Sky Atlantic, Sky News and Sky Sports. In addition, they sell on behalf of media partners, including Viacom International Media Networks Europe and Discovery Networks Northern Europe. Sky operated an Irish version of Sky News called Sky News Ireland from 2004 to 2006. As of January 2013, the company has 500 workers that work from its contact centre with a possible increase of 1,000 by year end. BSkyB chief executive Jeremy Darroch announced on 18 January 2013 that Sky Ireland will invest a further €1 billion over the next five years in Ireland. As of September 2013, Sky Ireland now employs 800 people at its Dublin base. Sky Ireland have confirmed they expect to invest €1.25 billion with expansion into the Irish market with Irish specific productions and further expansion of its existing Irish telecommunications company. In October 2013, Sky Ireland launched an on demand service to its Irish customers. In December 2013, Sky launched Ireland's biggest catch-up TV service. In 2017, NOW was launched in Ireland. In 2024, Sky launched its mobile network Sky Mobile in Ireland which uses the Vodafone network.

Broadcasting

Transmission When Sky Digital was launched in 1998 the new service used the Astra 2A satellite which was located at the 28.5°E orbital position, unlike the analogue service which was broadcast from 19.2°E. This was subsequently followed by more Astra satellites as well as Eutelsat's Eurobird 1 (now Eutelsat 28A) at 28.5°E), enabled the company to launch a new all-digital service, Sky, with the potential to carry hundreds of television and radio channels. The old position was shared with broadcasters from several European countries, while the new position at 28.5°E came to be used almost exclusively for channels that broadcast to the United Kingdom and Ireland. New Astra satellites joined the position in 2000 and 2001, and the number of channels available to customers increased accordingly. This trend continued with the launch of Eurobird 1 (now Eutelsat 28A) in 2001. Additionally, some channels occasionally received new numbering — However, in early 2006, the majority of channels received new numbering, with some receiving single digit changes, whilst others received new numbers entirely. Sky is currently transmitted from the Astra satellites located at 28.2° east (2A/2C/2E/2F) and Eutelsat's Eutelsat 28A satellite at 28.5°E.

Standard definition broadcasts Sky's standard definition broadcasts are in DVB-compliant MPEG-2, with the Sky Cinema and Sky Box Office channels including optional Dolby Digital soundtracks for recent films, although these are only accessible with a Sky+ box. Sky+ HD material is broadcast using MPEG-4 and most of the HD material uses the DVB-S2 standard. Interactive services and 7-day EPG use the proprietary OpenTV system, with set-top boxes including modems for a return path. Sky News, amongst other channels, provides a pseudo-video on demand interactive service by broadcasting looping video streams.

Digital satellite receivers Sky utilises the VideoGuard pay-TV scrambling system owned by NDS, a Cisco Systems company. There are tight controls over use of VideoGuard decoders; they are not available as stand-alone DVB CAMs (conditional-access modules). Sky has design authority over all digital satellite receivers capable of receiving their service. The receivers, though designed and built by different manufacturers, must conform to the same user interface look-and-feel as all the others. This extends to the Personal video recorder (PVR) offering (branded Sky+).

Electronic programme guide

Technology Sky maintains an electronic programme guide (EPG) which provides information about upcoming programmes and a list of channels. Channels available on Sky are assigned a three digit logical channel number which can be entered on a remote control to access the channel and determines in what order channels are listed. The EPG in Ireland gives priority to Irish channels. All channels are grouped into categories depending on their content. What section of the EPG a channel gets allocated is determined by rules set up by Sky Ireland. Sky Ireland has no veto over the presence of channels on their EPG. Any channel which can get carriage on a suitable beam of a satellite at 28° East is entitled to access to Sky's EPG for a fee. Third-party channels which opt for encryption receive discounts ranging from reduced price to free EPG entries, free carriage on a Sky leased transponder, or actual payment for being carried. However, even in this case, Sky does not carry any control over the channel's content or carriage issues such as picture quality. In October 2007, Sky's parent company Sky plc (then BSkyB) announced that they would not accept new applications to launch channel on their EPG, citing "very significant memory constraints" on many of its older digiboxes. In June 2012, Sky Ireland launched a new EPG for Sky+ HD boxes. The update boasts a new modernised look and improved functionality.

Sky Ireland EPG The Sky EPG lists all channels carried on the Sky platform. Many channels are free, others are available only with a subscription. In Ireland, some channels provided by Sky have programming blocks or alternative schedules to their UK counterpart. Some channels also have adverts for the Irish market. Sky, and its sister companies, operate a number of channels in the UK and Ireland with some being joint ventures with other companies:

Active

Entertainment Sky Showcase (SD and HD) Sky Max Sky Atlantic Sky Comedy Sky Witness (SD and HD) Sky Sci-Fi Sky Mix Comedy Central (joint venture with Paramount Global) Comedy Central Extra (joint venture with Paramount Global) Challenge

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Sky Ireland

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Sky Ireland claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Sky Ireland before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Sky Ireland ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Sky Ireland

In research: Sky Ireland appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Sky Ireland in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Sky Ireland is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Direct broadcast satellite services, Irish companies established in 1998, Sky Group, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Sky Ireland outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Sky Ireland in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Sky Ireland means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Sky Ireland out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Sky Ireland in simple terms?

Why does Sky Ireland matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Sky Ireland?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Sky Ireland.